CALLING all budding twitchers... The RSPB is looking for children and their teachers in Sefton to take part in UK’s biggest schools’ wildlife survey as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

With up to 2,000 schools taking part each year, the Big Schools’ Birdwatch has helped to track bird populations in schools for the last decade.

Running from January 24 – February 4, the activity encourages children and teachers to discover and learn about the birds that share their school environment.

The survey also helps the RSPB build a picture of birds visiting school grounds and the population changes they are experiencing.

Susan McGinty, the RSPB’s Education Officer for Northern England, says: “For the past 10 years, we’ve been asking young people in Merseyside to count the birds in their school grounds. As well as contributing to our understanding of the changes in bird numbers, Big Schools’ Birdwatch does a fantastic job of inspiring children about nature.”

In 2010, the most common visitor to Merseyside school grounds was the blackbird with an average of 5.0 seen at each school.

Since its launch in 2002, the survey has grown in popularity, and last year, the RSPB introduced for the first time the Little Schools’ Birdwatch especially designed for children aged five and under. This year, the conservation organisation is now offering the Really Big Schools’ Birdwatch, which is aimed specifically at 11-14 year-olds.

A host of curriculum-linked learning can flow from the survey, with plenty of flexibility built-in to run it as simply as teachers would like. Some schools make the activity the centrepiece of a whole week devoted to learning about wild birds while others hold after-school wildlife clubs or as part of work to improve their school grounds.

No birdwatching expertise is necessary for teachers, helpers or children and the RSPB has produced a free schools pack containing everything a teacher will need. The pack includes guidance notes, a full colour bird identification poster, chart and survey form at www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch or ring 0300 456 8340.